Once and Future
by Wanderstar
Summary: Arturia Pendragon has been captured and imprisoned in Baste Prison. She thinks that how she came to be there was not an accident and that there's traitor in Camelot. A chance encounter with a certain sin will free her from Baste but before she can go back to Camelot she has to go on a journey around Liones to find the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins. Au.
1. The Man in the Cell Next Door

**Hello! This is my second story after taking a hiatus and I hope people like it. I'm not the best writer but I will try my hardest to make this story the best it can be. I would also like to inform that since this is an au the events of Fate/ Zero and related never happened and is entirely exclusive to the Seven Deadly Sins universe. I kind of walked myself into a corner when I decided to include other characters such as the Lancers, Archer, and Gilgamesh but I think I can work it out. As for Saber, I'm having her be Arthur's older sister... I want to get to the story now so here goes. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate series nor Seven Deadly Sins.**

Not once in her life did she think that she would be reduced to the very condition she was in now. Perhaps if she hadn't been so reckless and unaware she may have never ended up imprisoned in Baste Prison. She and her small group of lesser ranked Holy Knights had been patrolling the border when they had been ambushed. Everyone except her died and she suspected that her comrades that had remained home likely thought she was dead. While the thought was upsetting, losing Excalibur and Avalon was even more so. While she hoped that weapon and sheath had been found by investigating comrades she doubted that was the case. More so than the sword, she worried about the loss of Avalon. Without it she was susceptible to injuries and death. In many ways the sheath had more uses than the sword and it made her feel all the more vulnerable. Back to why she had been imprisoned and not killed, Arturia thought it was because she had been obviously more stronger than the companions that had accompanied her. She had taken out a good majority of the enemy forces before brought down herself out of exhaustion. It seemed to her that the enemy had known a great deal about her abilities which lead her to think that there had to be some sort of inside mole in Camelot. The battle had left her severely depleted of mana after that it had been easy to capture and imprison her. When she had been taken to the Prison they had tried to torture her for information though it was a useless endeavor as all they got out of it was her name(a fake one of course). They had grown bored and instead of killing as they should have, they just let her sit and rot in her cell while they came and went as they pleased. It was only a few days later that she learned that the cell next to her's was occupied. It only offered her a small comfort but she felt better that she wasn't alone to go insane by herself.

"Hey, you okay?" The first time she heard the male voice coming through a miniscule hole in the wall of her cell she crawled weakly. She tried to peer through but it was unfortunately too dark and gloomy for her too see so instead she settled herself against the wall next to the hole. "Yes, I'm fine." She finally said. After that there was no reply for quite some time as if there wasn't enough energy to be mustered to speak any more than those few words. In the next few weeks after speaking to the voice her captors, the Weird Fangs, came and went as they pleased. Mostly it was the knight with the dark thorny helmet the holy knight Jude. He seemed to enjoy causing her pain, getting excited when she wouldn't react and he had to find a new way to torture her. Every so often the voice in the cell next door would whisper questions to her.

"So how'd you get here?" He asked one time.

"What?"

"I can already tell that you hold a great amount of power so it definitely wasn't easy to get you here. So tell me already." She felt a faint stab of annoyance before replying.

"Me and my comrades were ambushed, everyone died except me." She said shortly. She suddenly tried to peer uselessly through the hole, catching only a glimpse of a bloodied foot. "Who are you anyway? How I came to be here isn't any of your business." she snapped. Honestly, it caught her off guard how easily she had shared the information. This man(at least she assumed it was, she knew women with very deep voices) was a virtual stranger she knew practically nothing about. Besides that, she rarely shared personal information anyway. Why was that? Did she feel more at ease because it was likely that she would never actually get to meet this man or something else? And besides that, this man also held a great deal of power, far more than she had at this point. If he really wanted too, he could break out of Baste Prison easily.

"I guess it's only fair but only if you tell me your name too." She mulled it over, she didn't really want to give him her real name lest he turned out to be less than trustworthy which was very likely. They were in a prison afterall.

"Very well I accept your terms, so tell me who you are and how you came to be here." She finally replied.

"My name is Ban… and as for why I'm here… I want to feel aliive." She could hear the smile in his voice. This man… was surely insane, no sane living being would like to feel pain to feel alive, at least no one she had ever met until now. She also thought that the name sounded familiar but couldn't put her finger on why.

"Your turn, so tell me… what's your name?"

"You may call me Saber." She said. Until she decided that he was a man that could truly be trusted, she would not reveal her true identity.

"Are you really going back on your word, you didn't strike me as the type." He was trying to antagonize her and was succeeding. She flushed with anger and crossed her arms.

"I don't reveal my true name to people I don't know or trust, besides I am often identified as Saber, it's a nickname if you will." She shot back.

"Ah I see, well then… I guess I'll just have to take you with me when I leave."

"Sure-surely you jest! What do you mean you'll bring me with you? You barely know me!" she sputtered.

"It's exactly as I said, if I break you out of here you'll owe me and if you owe me you'll have to come with me and tell me your name."

"You-you despicable man!" He only laughed.

"Nah, I'm just reaaaally curious is all."

"Yes, I'm sure you are…" She murmured sarcastically. After that she was left to sit in thought and her mind soon wandered to her comrades and family at home. Was Archer doing okay? Was he improving further since the last time she saw him? He always worked so hard to enhance the skills he learned. Her mind then wandered over to her other comrades like Cu and his carefree attitude. Then there was that narcissistic fool Gilgamesh, admittedly she missed his confidence and even his twisted(albeit almost amusing) way of proposing marriage to her. She wondered how her father and brother were doing as well. Mostly she thought of Diarmuid and what he would have thought of her being in this situation.

Time passed on as she dwelled on her past and the decisions she had made. She sat against that wall for a good duration of that year while talking to Ban and getting to know him better. He told her about a girl he loved called Elaine and his plans to bring her back to life.

"She sounds like a lovely girl. I hope you will succeed in bringing her back." She didn't tell him that she thought his plans were unrealistic. Meanwhile she told him of her home and the adventures she had been on and the people she had met. She told him of her ideals and of her dream to serve her people. She omitted the one true tragedy she had witnesses, after all the time that had passed it was still too painful to speak about it.

"What about your friends? Tell me about them. You mention them all the time in your stories but I don't actually know anything about them" Saber sighed as she thought about what to say.

"Well there's Archer…"

"Another nickname?" he seemed to complain and she allowed a small smile to grow on her face.

"Yes, another nickname. Anyway, I've known Archer since he was a young man. He's changed so drastically since then. He has a noble dream to be a hero of justice-" Ban interrupted her by laughing boisterously. In the back of her mind she registered the shouting guards through her indignation.

"A hero of justice?! Please, what a joke!" He laughed.

"What?! Even if it's a useless endeavor I-" Saber was interrupted by the guards barging into the cell next to her's.

"How did you get free of your gag, you shouldn't even be able to speak!" Ban was still chuckling even after they left but he spoke no more.

It was only a few days later when she overheard the guards talking. "Have you heard what happened to Fort Solgales?"

"Yeah… It was reduced to a mountain of rubble in one night…"

"Supposedly, the captain of the Seven Deadly Sins did it!" Saber jerked, even in Camelot the Seven Deadly Sins were renowned. She remembered in a time long ago she had met the mage Merlin and briefly met the Captain, she also remembered the stories of how the Sins conspired to take the kingdom and assassinated the Grandmaster Zaratras.

"He-He's alive!? Then isn't this bad? One of them is locked up in here, right?" Saber suppressed the gasp that threatened to spill past her lips. She had never even recognized that the very man that she had spoken with for almost a year was a member of the Seven Deadly Sins. ' _I recognize the name now, he's the Fox's Sin of Greed, Undead Ban.'_ He was responsible for the destruction of the Fairy King's Forest. It was the source of a lot of outrage throughout Camelot especially between mages and the King.

"Is it going to be alright?" One guard asked worriedly.

"Don't be so scared. This dungeon is a fort built in preparation for battles to come. It won't be conquered or destroyed so easily, even by the Seven Deadly Sins. Besides, the four Holy Knight chosen from the best of the kingdom, the Weird Fangs are here! There's no way anyone would take such a huge risk just to save this man." The first of the two explained confidently.

"Heh you're right."

"Ever since he was captured by the weird Fangs five years ago, he's…" Even though, ashamedly, she had also been captured by the Weird Fangs, she knew they weren't very high ranked. Ban would have had no trouble dealing with them, but then again he did say that the entire reason he was still in the dungeons was because he wanted to 'feel alive'.

"Never felt the sunlight, never been allowed to move, never able to talk. He's never eaten any food worth eating, he's just going to be tortured until the day he dies. It's a miracle he's still even alive."

"To think that this man was once the legendary Fox's Sin… How pitiful." After that statement a man's voice began to filter through the stone walls of the prison. It was Ban humming merrily and Saber could imagine a smile on his face. "Huh…? Humming…? Where is that coming from…?" She could hear the guards clanking around in their armor as they turned towards the cell they were guarding. She had to fight to hide a small smile as Ban continued.

"Huuuuumnnnnnnnnnn…" It continued on for an hour before Ban finally stopped. The guards kept rotating in their shifts until finally she heard the news. She was sitting in thought, her knees tucked to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them. The Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins had arrived in Dalmary Town along with a giant girl thought to be Diane, the Goat's Sin of Envy. It also had been reported that Diane was now engaged in combat with one of the Weird Fangs.

"It looks like it finally began…"

"Wanna bet who wins?"

"The story of the Seven Deadly Sins' invincibility is a thing of the past. There's no way they can stand up to the protectors of the kingdom, the Holy Knights."

"Heeeeey… That…! Is pretty iiiiiiiinteresting!"

 _BANG_

The big metal cell door next to hers crashed down.

"Eek!"

"No… No way!?" The guards squealed. Saber stared at the door from her spot, trying to process what she had just heard.

"Aaaaaaah, it's nice to take walks every once in a while." She could hear Bans voice say.

"Why… Why you… How did you escape?!"

"How…? Can't you tell by looking? I kicked the door down.

"But… But why do this now? The Fox's Sin of Greed… Ban!"

"Why? Because you guys were talking about something really interesting.?

"Wh… What?"

"He was alive…? Our Cap'n?" There was a wet _shlick_ and then a clatter as something metal met the stone floor. _._

"Not… Not good! Notify the Weird Fangs immediately!" The guards continue to panic as more cracks resounded.

"What's the commotion?"

"OH!" All the guards on the scene squealed. Saber got to her feet and yanked on her chains as if they would loosen to allow her near the peephole in the door. She scowled as she tugged uselessly at the chains. In normal circumstances she would be able to snap the chains easily but it was like there was a block placed on her. While she had above average strength it wasn't like the conditions she had to live in allowed her to keep her strength. She couldn't call on any of her mana either that again could probably be attributed to the poor conditions.

"Lord Jericho!" The guards voices were all filled with renewed hope. "It's an emergency! Ban broke out!"

"What?" A rather feminine voice rang out in a haughtily. "The Deadly Sin Ban… I don't know how you got out of your cell, but hurry up and get back in." Jericho ordered the Sin as if he would listen.

"Hey, brat, shouldn't you watch you watch your attitude when you're talking to a hero?" ' _Of all the things he could have called himself… While, yes he was a Holy Knight for sometime, his past is riddled with stories of criminality.'_ Saber thought an eyebrow raised.

"You dare address an apprentice Holy Knight as 'Brat" huh? For a half-dead criminal, you've sure got a lively mouth." Jericho spoke almost arrogantly. Saber heard the slight click as she slid her sword free of its sheathe. "Send this message to Lord Golgius. A prisoner broke out of his cell and resisted, so Jericho had no choice but to kill him."

"Yes, sir!" There was a clatter of footsteps as a guard left to inform Lord Golgius. Succeeding those footsteps there was a series of footsteps afterwards followed by the whistling of a sword swinging through the air.

"Gwaaaaaaaah!" Saber yanked even more desperately at the chains holding her down. ' _Damnit, Ban!'_ In a way, she owed him her sanity. If she had been forced to be entirely alone she might've gone mad. She held her breath in anticipation.

"Awwww man!" Bans voice suddenly sang. Saber allowed herself to sigh in relief. "Did I cut it too short?" He asked Jericho. Saber imagined him smirking as he did so. "Well, it feels refreshing, so I guess it's alright… You have a lot of talent… As a hairdresser." He teased.

"Im… Impossible! You dodged my blade despite having wounds all over your body?!" Jericho raged disbelievingly.

"Wounds? What wounds?" ' _So the stories behind his name are true, he must truly be immortal!'_ Saber thought in amazement.

"No way! You just had steel stakes sticking through your limbs!" Jericho pointed out.

"Remember this well, brat… This…" There was a pause, "What you call a wound, got it? The wound that he gave me… Is a special case though." She heard the impact of a body against the wall. "Now take your clothes off, I need them."

"W… What?! No way!" The protest was quickly cut off followed by the rustle of clothing. There was a knock against her cell.

"You might want to get out of the way, I'm going to knock this door down." Ban's voice ordered her along with a passing glimpse of scarlet-red eyes. Saber scrambled to gather the chains around her and press herself to one of the walls. A few moments pass before the door abruptly flies forward out of the wall, a clear footprint impressed into the center of the door.

A man that very clearly surpassed her in height padded through the opening. Saber watched him wearily as her eyes painfully adjusted to the influx of light. She had to lift back her head to look at him more clearly. He had short pale blue hair and those scarlet-red eyes. A large scar crawled from his face and over his neck. He was well muscled and wore red pants that sat low on his waist. All in all, he was handsome in a roguish way. She stayed where she was as he looked her up and down, spying the slight softening of his eyes as he took in her appearance. "Here, I thought they looked cool but they're too small for me so you might as well wear them." He told holding out a poofy dark purple overcoat and black pants. As Saber reached out and took them, she directed a glare at Ban who merely smirked at her. ' _You've undressed in front of men before, this is no different.'_ She encouraged herself as stepped out of her raggy clothing and pulling the clothing items he gave her. Once they were on she stretched, ' _A little big but not enough to impede movement.'_ She turned back towards Ban only to get a sword shoved into her face.

"Don't you need a weapon? In my condition I might not be much use to you." She told him and he shrugged.

"Fighting with a sword isn't my style, I don't need it to kill a person." Ignoring the slight ominous tone in his voice she took the sword and considered it.

' _Fairly lightweight, for one-handed use. I'll have to make adjustments, I'm used to a two-handed style of fighting.'_ She inspected the blade and left the sheathe on the floor. She felt bad that she was using another knight's weapon so she decided that once she was out of Baste she would leave the sword behind.

"Are you ready yet?" She raised her head to Ban who had crossed his arms behind his head, looking at her languidly.

"Yes I am, thank you. I owe you a great debt." He turned around and began to walk away.

"Don't worry about it, at least not yet anyway." Saber scowled at his back but followed after him.

 **AN: I hoped you like the first chapter! I've already written ahead but I'm taking time to proofread and edit each chapter. Unfortunately my parents live separately and I spend the most time at my moms. The laptop I have at my moms is school issued and has blocked Fanfiction. The laptop I'm using right now is my personal laptop but it's at my Dads and can only stay at my dads so I won't be updating very often.**

 **Anyway I welcome all reviews with the exception of flames and please don't hesitate to give me advice to make this story even better!**


	2. A New Adventure

**Hey! I know it's been a while. Life decided to hit me in the face with a shovel and I really just haven't been able to get to Once and Future. Thank you so much for those who followed me and commented and things like that. I really hope you like this chapter though, unfortunately, it's another short one.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Nanatsu no Taizai nor do I own the Fate series**

Stepping out into the stone hallway she noticed the woman on the floor only clothed in her undergarments. She was screaming at the remaining guards who all looked at her pervertedly. ' _That must be Lord Jericho.'_ She thought detachedly. Ban suddenly turned and grinned at her.

"By the way… You look pretty good in that, better than the barber at least." She flushed and glared at him hotly. "Anyway let's go now before the whole place comes lookin'." They walked in silence through the halls while Ban absentmindedly hummed to himself. Hearing the clattering noises of armor and shouting voices coming down the halls the two veer down a hallway lined with barred cells. A lone guard crouched in front of one. Saber stiffened and brandished her sword, ready to fight if need be.

"It's been noisy for a while…" The guard comments before saying "Did someone escape?" He asked not looking at them.

"Who cares? It's got nothing to do with us." Ban replied shooting Saber an amused look who glared back at him.

"Anyway, check this out!" The guard as he leaned towards the cell even further, salivating at whatever was behind the bars. Saber gazed at him with disgust, how such a man became a guard or even a knight for that matter was beyond her. When did they start employing men and women with no honor?

"Isn't she such a fine woman? Her name is C-Cenette I think..." the guard muttered as he continued to stare lustily at whoever was behind the bars. A faint red haze threatened the edges of Saber's vision as a righteous fury filled her. 'How dare he… This is no way to behave!' Without giving it another thought she came up behind the drooling man and gave him a hard kick to the back of his head, slamming his face into the bars and knocking him unconscious in one blow. Admittedly it felt good to release some of her pent-up anger.

Ban kicked the man aside and deftly crushed the metal bars to the side as the woman cried out. He stepped in alongside Saber and snapped the chains holding Cenette's arms over her head. Saber helped the woman up and carefully walked her out to the hall. Before Saber could completely pass out of the cell Ban leaned forward into Cenette with a devilish smile.

"I'm taking your hidden dagger." He told her, sliding free a sheathed dagger from inside the top of her dress.

"W-how? My father gave me that for self-protection, and…" Rather than listen to the girl he turned his attention to the knife and unsheathed it.

"It's a good dagger. The five hawthorn symbols… It's made by Tarbas, the master weaponsmith. It's got a good feel. The weight is perfect too. The decorations are kept to a minimum so that they don't interfere with its use." He muttered aloud to himself as he swung it through the air experimentally and unwittingly hitting the newly awakened guard that had run at them. "Oops…" Ban said before smiling wickedly. "The sharpness isn't bad either."

"The nearest exit is in that direction, the guards must be on the other side of Baste by now so I imagine there won't be many guards guarding the way out." Saber spoke, letting Cenette stand on her own.

Cenette smiled, "I- I don't know who you guys are, but thank you. Can you please take me back to town?" She asked shyly. At Saber's nod, she directed a tremulous smile at Ban. "And… that dagger is my mother's memento, please give it back to me." Ban considered her but before he could open his mouth another voice spoke.

"Where do you think you're going, Ban of the Seven Deadly Sins and Mordred of Camelot?" Saber shoved Cenette behind her and got into a stance. She glared at the knight at the end of the corridor. It was Jude, of all the Weird Fangs he was the one who visited her cell the most. She absolutely despised him.

"You are to die right here and now." Jude declared.

"Yo, Holy Knight Jude!" Ban greeted the knight with a smile. Saber glanced back at Cenette who was looking back between her and Ban uncertainly. She turned her head back to Jude who seemed to be entirely focused on Ban.

"You should run while you still can." Saber warned the fearful women who nodded at her and ran in the opposite direction.

"You're going to kill me? Why do it now?" Ban asked.

"We've no more use for you. You were the bait for the Sins' captain and you've already fulfilled your role. My knights should be finishing up your fellow sins right about now. And once I've killed you, there will be five fewer criminals in the world."

"Five? Saber here isn't what I would say is a criminal." Ban drawled, she winced as he emphasized the fake name she had given. Jude didn't deign to reply and Ban chuckled. "Anyway, I hope your dream comes true." He said arrogantly, he tucked his hands into his pockets and made as if to walk away, but he was stopped by the voice of the Holy Knight.

"Have you forgotten already? Five years ago, who was it that caught and tortured you?" Ban's smile lessened. Suddenly the dungeons shooks, distracting Saber and Ban. Jude took this as an opportunity to impale Ban in the chest with a stake and slamming him into the wall, causing a small crater upon impact. Blood spilled from his mouth and Saber tensed. Was there a limit to how much abuse he could take after all? Saber was glad to have told Cenette to run, she didn't want the poor girl to experience how brutal this was.

"Gaha…"

"Is it painful?" Jude asked. "Didn't I say it already? Fox's Sin Ban… You've already filled your role." Saber started to take slow, unobtrusive steps.

"Do you know… Why I was… Captured by you five years ago?" If he did happen to die after all she would be sure to avenge him.

"Humph… You say it like you got captured on purpose."

"Back then I… wanted pain. I wanted the feeling of pain that could make me feel aliiiiiive." Ban admitted. "But I'm already sick of it. Your pain." He smiled as he ripped the stake from his chest.

"Wha?" Jude said in surprise.

"Since now that I knoooow that Cap'n is alive… If he's alive, then more stuff will happen, right? There's no reason for me to stick around in this boring place anymore!" Ban licked his bloody lips with a wicked glint in his eyes. Jude took three steps back as Ban pushed himself off the wall, his wound was already healing.

"You… You… Are plotting the same thing you did ten years ago… To overthrow the kingdom!? "

"Overthrow the kingdom? Oh yeah, there was something like that." Jude fumbled.

"Kukuku… Just try to do something like that. This time, for sure every single Holy Knight in the kingdom will declare all-out war on the Seven Deadly Sins!"

"Sounds fun." Ban smiled, Jude suddenly lunged at the Sin but before he could take a step, Saber charged and thrust her borrowed sword into the Holy Knight's back. Blood spilled out of the vine-like visor and the knights head slowly turned towards her.

"Damn… I underestimated… you…" He fell, dead.

"Niiiiice." Ban drawled looking at Saber sharply. "So is Mordred your actual name or is it fake too?"

"No, it's not… As I've told you before though, I am from Camelot. It's the name of a trusted comrade..." 'Or at least, one I had once trusted' She had thought for sure that he would recognize the name but she and her comrades must not be as well known in Britannia. Ban noticed the lack of chattering teeth and tiny whimpers. "Where did Cenette go?"

"I told her to run."

"Why'd ya do that?" Saber leveled a dark look at him.

"Not everyone should always witness such brutal things, this had the potential to be a messy situation."

He shrugged "She's probably trying to find a way out, so let's get going." He started to walk away with his hands in his pockets. It was only a few minutes before the two heard voices and Ban picked up his pace.

"Er, I'm the daughter of a doctor from Dalmary, and I was forced here… Any- Anyway, two criminals helped me escape and now they're fighting a Holy Knight!" She heard Cenette say. Saber came down the hallway behind Ban.

"Ban!" A small boy with blonde hair and green eyes calls. _'That young man, he looks exactly the same as back then!'_

"Oh, Cap'n."

"And… stranger?" Saber's gaze is directed to the violet eyes… Of a giant girl. Her eyes widened, she'd heard stories about the giant race but never in her life had she actually seen one.

"Who're you?" The blonde boy asked Saber inquisitively but a knowing look in his eyes told her that he had recognized her as well.

"You may call me Saber." She kept herself ready sensing the tense atmosphere and feeling uneasy around the blonde.

"She's with me Cap'n, don't worry about her." Ban intervened.

"That… That's right! That man is Ban, from the legendary Seven Deadly Sins! Wait, how did you know already?" The giant girl ignored Cenette's question in favor of looking at Captain Meliodas.

"Captain?" Meliodas advanced with a serious look on his face. Saber began to inch slowly towards the giantess.

"Uh… They were just reunited, but what's with this atmosphere? I got a bad feeling about this." ' _Wait, a talking pig?!'_ Saber barely managed to suppress her surprise at the pig talking next to her.

"W-wait, you can talk?" it glared at her.

"Of course I can, why shouldn't I be able to?"

"I-" She had to suppress herself from gushing, there was just something really cute about the talking animal that she had to resist the urge to pet it.

The giantess made herself comfortable, making the floor rumble as she settled. "You three should get behind me… Things are about to get a little crazy." Saber followed the girl's order before looking up at her.

"You're Diane correct?" Saber spoke up.

"Yes, that's me, the Snake's Sin of Envy! Nice to meet you!" The girl smiled at her cheerfully.

"It's my pleasure." Saber tilted her head with a smile before directing her gaze at Ban and the Captain who were now standing directly in front of each other. Suddenly Meliodas raised his hands jubilantly.

"BAAAAAAAAN!"

"CAP'NNNNNN!" Ban raised his hands and the two began to play a fast game of patty cakes.

"They actually get along quite well don't they." Saber said with faint amusement, reminiscing about her own comrades' antics.

"Yep."

"HO!" Ban raised a hand and slapped Meliodas through the wall… or rather, walls. "Come on, Cap'n!" Ban shouted giddily when he was suddenly headbutted and sent through several walls.

"What the hell!?" The pig squealed.

"Just leave them alone." Diane sighed, her head resting on her knees. The two met each other again, clapping one of their hands together and resting their elbows against the floor.

"Ready…"

"GO!" The surface shattered underneath them.

"The floor, the walls, and the ceiling. It's all coming down!" The pig squealed.

"Really, men are so childish… Those two have alway been like this."

"What do you mean, like this!"

"They are connected through a strong bond of camaraderie and friendship." Saber commented and Diane nodded her head in agreement.

"Captain's serious face is cute, too!" Saber heard Diane say as she struggled not to let herself get crushed by falling rubble. She jumped from debris to debris, allowing her instincts to take over. It was only a few moments later that she landed on the dirt ground. Diane landed next to her and looked around. "Oh… It's dusk already, no wonder I was starting to get hungry!"

"You guys are ridiculous!" the pig said. Saber smiled, she'd been called ridiculous quite a few times, namely.

"Anyway, well… I'm happy to see you agaaaain Cap'n." Ban told Meliodas at last. Saber smiled even wider, it was always nice to be reunited with comrades. She sobered a little, she wished to see her brother and those that she considered friends again… But she owed a great deal to Ban and-

"Hey!" Her gaze snapped to the small blonde.

"I'm Meliodas, the Captain! You're Saber." He told her and Saber smiled politely with a respectful bow.

"Yes but I think you know who I really am…" She murmured but Meliodas dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

"Of course I do but you don't have to let anybody else know until later. Though maybe you might want to join us in finding the rest of the Sins?" He asked. Saber hesitated, it was her duty to return home as soon as possible but it went against her very being to leave while something was obviously going on, especially if the Seven Deadly Sins were going to be brought together again...

"I..."

"You owe me, Saber! You might as well come along." Ban hooked an arm around her neck and leaned in close. Saber fought to suppress a blush at the close contact before once again directing her gaze at the captain of the Sins.

"I will do so with great honor." She told him formally as she raised a clenched fist over her heart and bowed.

"Come on enough of that, anyway let's head back to Dalmary." Meliodas suggested.

Saber turned to follow him but was pulled back by Ban who surveyed her with critical eyes. "You're not hurt are you? I know me and the Cap'n can get a little rough sometimes." Ban told her, concern was flashing uncharacteristically in his eyes as he rubbed lightly at a particularly painful looking bruise.

"I'm fine, I've faced worse in spar sessions." She smiled ruefully as she remembered distant training sessions with Diarmuid in which they let themselves enjoy the thrill of combat.

"Hey!" He chopped her on the head and she began to glare at him, a tick mark began to develop on her forehead.

"Anyway let's go now." He started to run away from her to catch up to Meliodas. She smiled, for one of the few times in her life, there were more people she could connect with. She felt something changing inside her, and maybe that wasn't so bad. She began to run after Ban, her eyes shining for the first time in a long time.

 **A.N.: I hope you liked this chapter and I'll try to get another one up soon! Please don't hesitate to review or pm any questions it really encourages me to make this story even better. Thank you and have a wonderful day!**


	3. The Journey Starts

**Ah, hello again! I'm sorry it's taking me so long to update. I've been absolutely swamped by homework and such but I promised myself I would get this chapter out this weekend so here it is. I hope you enjoy it!**

When they arrived in Dalmary town, the sun was already setting. Reaching a clearing among the carnage of earth rising into the sky, Diane took her bag off her back and gently set it on the cobblestone street. She opened the flap to reveal the tired looking form of an injured girl. Saber looked on in concern as Diane and Meliodas checked on her.

"Elizabeth-" She knew that name… ' _Wasn't one of the_ _princesses of Liones named Elizabeth?'_ Saber tried hard to recall her memories. At the time she had been 16 but she did remember a small girl with silver hair and vibrant blue eyes… Was this the same girl who Saber once watched over all those years ago?

"Lord Meliodas... Lady Diane. What about Lord Ban and… Miss Cenette… and Hawk got hurt, too." She murmured dazedly, she directed her gaze at Saber but there was no flash of recognition.

"Who are you? You're not hurt too bad too right?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm Saber… You must be Princess Elizabeth, it's an honor to meet you. I'm fine, I've endured worse" Saber bowed again and Elizabeth smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too!", Hawk blubbered in the background while Meliodas rested an arm on the giant bag.

"" _Before worrying about others, you should worry about yourself!"_ He says." Meliodas translates for Hawk. "Ban and Cenette came back with us too."

"Then, does Miss Cenette know about what happened to Dr. Dana?" ' _Dr. Dana must be the girl's father.'_ Saber guessed.

"Yeah, we told her everything."

"Lord Meliodas...I… Will be fine. Can you go with… Miss Cenette?" The young princess requested.

"Got it." Meliodas said

"I'll look after you, Princess." Saber who was standing next to Ban heard the hostile whispers behind them. Ban glanced back then turned around to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" Saber questioned him. It caught the attention of the rest of the group who looked after him curiously. Ban only waved a hand in dismissal and sang,

"Toilet!" Satisfied, Meliodas turned away and looked down at Hawk.

"Hey, Hawk, come with us. You'd make too much noise for Elizabeth to rest." As the pig grumbled he turned again to Saber.

"What'll it be? You want to come with us?" Saber smiled and shook her head.

"I would like to join you later but I think I'll wait and look for Ban." Meliodas gave her a knowing nod and began to trot casually away with Cenette and Hawk after telling her the direction of Cenette's house. She turned in another direction and began to walk in the general direction Ban had left. Ten minutes later she was walking down a slightly populated street when she heard the voice behind her.

"Hey, shouldn't you be with the others?" She turned to look at Ban who stared down at her. She looked him up and down, noticing the the studded red leather clothes.

"Where did you get your clothes, you don't have any money." She asked him quizzically instead of answering his question.

"Well, people 'donated' them to me of course!" He said cheerfully, holding up a bag of currency. "Now answer the question, why aren't you with the Cap'n?" Saber bristled.

"I wasn't aware that I needed to be by the Captain's side." She told him coolly. "He seemed perfectly fine with me going off by myself." He shrugged, hands deep in his pockets.

"Sorry." He didn't seem to be sincere but she decided to let it go, there was no sense in getting angry and starting a fight over something so trivial.

"Anyway, let's go. Your Captain gave me directions to Miss Cenette's home." She was dirty and tired. All she wanted was to eat real food for once and wear proper clothing. She ignored the stares directed in her and Ban's direction. The two made an odd pair with him being well over 6 foot her being just 5 feet. Two finally came across the house after being directed to it from a stranger they had asked. Cenette opened the door accompanied by an older man whom she assumed to be the girl's father, and Meliodas.

"Oh it's you two!" Cenette looked surprised while her father looked on, bewildered. Meliodas held up a welcoming hand.

"Hey guys, come on in! Dr. Dana said that we can stay here for awhile. Oh and we're eating here tonight." He walked down the hallway but not before adding "Ban, we need to talk." Ban glanced at Saber before following after the Captain. Saber meanwhile stood awkwardly in the entrance before Cenette gently grabbed her hand and led her away in the opposite direction.

"Let's get you a bath-and some clothes, I think I might have some that will fit from when I was younger…" Cenette led her to a room and rooted the closet within before pulling out a box. Taking several clothing items out she inspected them before handing it all to Saber who took the clothes gratefully and then leading her to the bathroom to get clean.

Soon enough she was clean and tried on the clothes. There was a white underskirt and then a royal blue sleeveless dress with a high collar. It had a tabbed skirt that were shaped like flower petals and lined in gold. The bodice had gold designs as well. Then she had white stockings and brown boots. The boots didn't fit perfectly but the dress overall fit well and when she pulled on the arm warmers that went from elbow to wrist she was surprised when she inspected herself in the mirror. If she didn't know any better she'd think it was practically the same dress as the one she had once worn when she was a teen. It brought back a lot of memories but she pushed them away.

The group gathered on the roof with Diane leaning over the roof into the small courtyard.

"Well then, Elizabeth. I'll introduce them again. This is the Fox's Sin of Greed, Ban-" Ban greeted her from where he sat on a barrel before Meliodas continued, "and this is Saber, who decided to join us in finding the other Sins." Saber bowed at the princess while Meliodas looked at Ban appraisingly. "Where did you get those clothes?" He asked Ban.

"How could I be naked in front of the princess?" Ban responded.

"How did you have money to buy clothes?"

"I just happened to find them lying around, along with some money." Diane sighed and Elizabeth giggled. Ban jumped off his barrel, gaze directed at the giantess.

"Come to think of it, it's been awhile, Diane." He remarked and she turned away haughtily.

"I would have been okay with not seeing you for another hundred years though." Elizabeth who had been waiting patiently while the two bantered turned her head to Ban.

"I'm Elizabeth… Please forgive me for greeting you in this state." She told him. Ban bowed with a hand pressed to his chest.

"No need, Princess, We Sins don't care too much for rank or politeness. Let's have us all get along, shall we?"

"You didn't forget me right?" Ban looked around questioningly before looking at the captain.

"Don't be silly Cap'n. Of course I didn't forget you!" Saber covered her mouth with her hand to hide the smile she was wearing.

"You sure are a freaky bastard. You leave your allies and get caught and thrown into the dungeon on purpose, just because you were bored. Once you realize your allies are alive, you bust not only yourself out but another one too and level the whole place. You have a few screws loose in your head don't you?" Hawk commented. Ban's face continued to grow more and more bewildered.

"Who the hell are you?" He growled glaring in Hawk's general direction.

"It's me!" Hawk huffed, Ban looked at him blankly before his eyes widened.

"THIS PIG CAN TALK?!" He shouted incredulously, "No waaaaay! A pig can talk like a person!?" Ban scrambled backwards.

"Why is that freaking you out?!"

"What's the point of a pig being able to talk?! I thought it was for Diane's food!"

"Why do all of you always make me into a food pig?!" Hawk complained before brightening. "Listen well. I'm not just any pig! I am Hawk, the Captain of the Knights of Scraps Disposal!"

" _Really?! That's amazing! I've never heard of anything like this!"_ Saber wondered briefly if he was actually taking this seriously.

"And here we have a pig starting to believe his own illusions." Meliodas said beside her.

Saber smiled at everyone's antics. "It all reminds me of home." She mused quietly to herself and he sent her a sympathetic look.

"Food's ready!" Cenette sang out, arms laden with heaps of food.

"Everyone! Please eat as much as you want!" Saber filled her plate, easily devouring five servings while she watched the doctor converse with Diane, while a salivating Hawk sat at her feet, staring at her food longingly and disbelievingly.

"I can't believe this! Not even I can eat as much as you!" Hawk commented.

"Yeah, she eats more than Diane." Ban said over his cup of ale, Saber piled her plate full of food again, savoring each bite. She hadn't eaten something so delicious in a while.

"You sure you don't want some ale?" Cenette asked her from where she stood from putting more food out on the table.

"Ah, yes please." When the alcohol was handed to her she took only a small sip before setting it down. She didn't drink much anymore not after having a bad experience with it a long time ago when she found that excessive amounts of liquor caused her to… Make bad decisions to say the least.

Saber made her way over to Elizabeth and Diane while the boys continued their silly antics.

"It's been awhile since I've been able to enjoy myself in this way." Saber said softly and Elizabeth hummed in agreement.

"I wish this moment could last forever…" She murmured wistfully. "But this has reminded me of just how frighteningly powerful the Holy Knights are, and that only the Seven Deadly Sins can stand up to them."

"Princess, I don't know anything about humans or humans' countries, and to be honest I'm not really interested either. But… I think I wouldn't mind fighting for you, because you were really cool today." Elizabeth jerked up in her haste to protest but Diane cut her off. "You said you don't have any powers, but you do. The power to move the hearts of the Captain and me… And hey Princess, can I just call you Elizabeth?"

The Liones Princess looked at her blankly before a smile bloomed on her face. "Of course!" then she turned to Saber. "You can call me Elizabeth too!"

"Of course…" Saber trailed off before looking at Elizabeth and Diane. "If you insist that I call you by your names only then it is only right that I give you mine…"

"Oh no no no! You don't have to do that Saber!" Elizabeth said frantically sensing Saber's slight discomfort but Saber put up a hand.

"I would not tell you my name if I wasn't certain that I could trust you… Besides it's the more honorable thing to do." Saber took a deep breath. "My real name is Arturia… You may continue to call me Saber if you want but that is my real name."

"Arturia… That name seems familiar… Wait you can't be- You're Arturia Pendragon aren't you?" Elizabeth's eyes lit up in recognition.

"You're- You're the daughter of the king of Camelot? You're a princess like Elizabeth too?" Diane asked and Arturia stiffened.

"How is it that you know that I'm a Pendragon?" She asked sharply and Elizabeth looked down.

"About a year ago word got out that a well known knight in Camelot had gone missing. It was revealed that they were a descendent of Uther Pendragon, Princess Arturia Pendragon." Arturia nodded in understanding at that.

"As far as I knew it wasn't common knowledge but I guess things change."

The conversation between the girls drew the other's attention and Ban made his way drunkenly over. He hooked an arm around Arturia's neck and leaned onto her.

"Your real name is Arturia? I like it, has a nice ring." He drawled, he took another drink from the cup he was holding. "And you're supposed to be some sort of knight princess?"

"Not exactly… I was the first child of the king but unfortunately a female cannot be king in Camelot. I'm not an official princess." Diane stared down at her curiously.

"But I thought that the first child has the right to the throne when it comes to humans. Why would being female change that?"Arturia shrugged at that.

"The way most see it in Camelot is that the woman is supposed to stay at home to take care of affairs at home and be protected by their husbands. They aren't normally relegated to be monarch. Camelot has taken significant strides in being allowed to become Holy Knight's but they aren't meant to be in a position such as King or Queen." Arturia sighed "When I achieved becoming a knight some were able to figure out my true identity. Most didn't know back then."

"Father! Look at the skies!" Cenette suddenly spoke up as she pointed towards the heavens.

"This is like that stanza from one of the ancient poems of Britannia." The man murmured as they all looked towards stars shooting across the sky. When the shooting stars finally stopped the doctor yawned.

"Today has been a long day, I'm going to bed. I'll offer free board before you go." Meliodas smiled politely and accepted. The group stayed for three days while Elizabeth focused on getting better. On the second day of their stay Meliodas showed her the Boar Hat Tavern to show her where she would be staying for the duration of her time with the Sin's.

X

"I have to say that this is a very fine tavern." Arturia looked up at it from where it sat on a hill.

"Thanks." Meliodas scratched the back of his head while moving towards the building. She followed behind him silently though it was broken by the sound of his voice. "You sure have grown up since the last time I saw you." He looked back at her and grinned.

"Yes, it's been quite some time since we last saw each other. That was a little more than ten or eleven years ago, I was about 13 or 14 then." She recalled fondly. Meliodas had once come to Camelot to meet with King Uther. Arturia back then was still in training with Sir Ector when she met the Holy Knight from Liones. He had hung around for a while and even watched her training, giving her tips and helping her with her swordsmanship. He had become something akin to a brother but not exactly. He seemed to know everything about her before she could either tell him or she knew herself. She had quickly become fond of him and was saddened when he finally left.

He led her into the tavern, showing her a door following a flight of stairs. He held open the door at the top of the stairs which opened into a bedroom.

"You can sleep in here for now while we figure out sleeping arrangements." She blinked as she gazed about the room before turning back to a grinning Meliodas.

"Will Elizabeth be staying in here with me as well?" She asked and he nodded though he looked slightly pouty.

"Yeah, this is Elizabeth's room but now everyone has to share." after murmuring to himself that Hawk wouldn't allow him to sleep in the same bed as Elizabeth.

"Thank you for letting me stay." Arturia thanked him and he waved a hand dismissively.

"No need to thank me, after all you're helping me find the rest of the Sins even though it's in your best interest to return home." Arturia's good spirits quickly turned sour and she gave him an uncertain look.

"Do you have any news of Camelot?" She asked him and he nodded, his eyes turning serious.

"The King, Uther Pendragon is dead." Arturia's eyes widened and she sat down on the bed to take the news in. To be honest she hadn't known the man very well but it's still hard to hear that one's father has passed on to the next world.

"Then what of the throne? Who's the ruler now?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't been able to keep up on the rumors lately." At that she perked up and her head swiveled to him from where it had once been facing the floor.

"Hm, perhaps a capable knight then?" She wondered, there were always countermeasures in place in case of an incident where there was no right heir to the throne. But perhaps her younger brother had taken the throne? Like her, he was the biological child of Uther but had been adopted by Sir Ector as well. The last she had seen of him had been when she had left that one day for patrol and got captured. He had asked her to train with him when she got back. Obviously that had never happened as she had gotten herself captured.

"I suppose I will find out when I return to Camelot." Until then she had other things to worry about. She got off the bed and walked up to the ex-knight.

"Until then, please help me train. I'm out of practice." He grinned at her, a devilish light in his eyes.

"Fine, I won't go easy on you though." He warned but she gave him a razor sharp smile back.

"I wouldn't expect you to, you didn't back then." She was a lot more skilled than she had been back then.

Arturia was absolutely exhausted, for the past two days she had been training with Meliodas in their spare time. He was just as tough as always though she prided herself on the fact that she was able to go toe to toe with him and hold her own, better than when she had help from him when she was younger. It was night now and the Sin's had finally decided that it was time to get moving to their next destination. Instead of staying another night at Dr. Dana's Meliodas had decided that everyone would just stay at the tavern. Upon arriving Meliodas took her aside to train until the late evening. Despite the fact that she was exhausted and hungry she was happy that she was regaining her strength already. Regaining her mana stores was still slower than usual but they had built back up to an acceptable level, enough that she could use her magic without too much effort. She trudged up the stairs tiredly to the room she and Elizabeth were sharing. She swung open the door, a nice bath was on her mind though it was quickly shoved back to take in the sight before her. She did a comical face fault before composing herself.

"Ban… What are you doing in this room? Elizabeth and I are sharing it." Ban didn't open his eyes to look at her from where he lay sprawled on the bed.

"I don't care, this room is mine now." She sighed.

"I suppose that means Elizabeth is in Meliodas's room." She had never taken him to be a pervert but it seemed that the poor Lionese princess just brought out that side of him. Still, she didn't want to share the same bed as the male. Making her way to the side of the bed she gripped the blanket the man lay atop of and promptly pulled them out and subsequently flipping him off and onto the floor. He groaned and she smiled as she put the blanket back over the bed and crawled under the covers.

"There's no way that I'm sleeping on the floor." Ban grumbled and she stiffened as he settled back onto the bed.

"Relax, geez. I'm not gonna do anything." His breathing grew slow as he fell asleep and she sighed before finally relaxing again, she'd deal with it tomorrow, right now sleep.

When she woke up to the gentle rocking underneath her, she was by herself but she could still smell Ban in the pillows. It mostly smelled like alcohol. Sniffing the air, she smelled food and rushed to get ready for the day. Coming down the stairs she was greeted with the sight of delicious looking food at one of the tables populating the bar while Meliodas, Ban, and Hawk sat looking over a map at another. While the food itself looked delicious it had a… funny taste to say the least. She devoured it all while the three stared at her in disbelief.

"This is one of the first times I've seen someone eat Meliodas's cooking without immediately spitting it back out." Hawk murmured.

"Or get food poisoned." Ban added and Meliodas turned a dangerous smile at the two.

"You know what, I think we should have roast pork tonight, Ban can prepare it and everything." he said cheerfully, Hawk blubbered and Ban wrapped an arm around the pig crying, "I would never do that to you Master!" The three's antics quickly hushed back down though in favor of looking at the map spread across the table.

"This is where Elizabeth met us. And then we were reunited with Diane in the Forest of White Dreams…" Meliodas pointed out.

"And now we're on the mountain road headed East from Dalmary, huh?" Hawk snorted.

"Don't we wanna go to the kingdom's capital? Shouldn't we be heading Southwest on the mainroad?" Ban interjected.

"We're heading away from the kingdom for now." Meliodas said, "We brought down Solgales and Baste. The kingdom and the Holy Knights must on high alert by now." He reasoned, "It'd be best if we avoid doing anything that would catch their attention."

"But we're already catching sooo much attention." Ban pointed out. Watching the three talking Arturia spotted Diane talking animatedly with the princess outside. Arturia finished her food and carried it to the sink in the back of the bar before returning and sitting at the bar.

"So, do you have any idea where we're going next?" She prompted the captain, there was a mutter of agreement from Ban who now stood by the window. Meliodas glanced at the map then rolled it up.

"Yeah, our next destination is-" suddenly the building rocked as the _giant green pig_ came to a sudden halt. She had to get used to the idea now that a giant pig carried a tavern on it's back almost like a hat but now she was fully used to it and found that it was actually quite an enjoyable experience.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Arturia rushed to follow behind Ban and Meliodas to look over two knights standing on the ground.

"A checkpoint already?" She murmured to herself as she stood next to Ban.

"We are Holy Knights of the Kingdom, you must answer our questions!" One stated arrogantly.

"From the reports, we know that Diane of the Seven Deadly Sins is from the Giants' Clan. We also have reports of a pig carrying a house on its back." the other, a blonde haired man, said.

"Holy Knights, my ass. They look like they're just apprentices." Ban made to move toward the men. "I'll finish them off without breaking a sweat." Arturia swept an arm out to block him.

"Whaaat?" She pointed to Captain Meliodas who had already stepped to the edge of Mama Pig and waved at the two knights.

"Hey there security guys. I'm the owner of this traveling bar, "Boar Hat" what can I do for you?" Meliodas spoke genially.

"Then what are you doing with this woman from the Giants' Clan?" the black haired that had spoken first asked.

"She's my bar's attractive waitress! The other two are waitresses as well." He hugged Elizabeth into him and pointed a thumb at Diane and then gesturing at Arturia who blinked.

"Amazing, what a persuasive talker." She mumbled in child-like amazement while Ban grumbled.

"What an unbelievable lie." The guards both looked up at Diane who still looked surprised.

"This is a new trend!"

"Awesome! She's cute!"

"And take a look at the other two, so delicate looking!"

Ban turned away and walked back into the bar muttering a "Seriously?" while Meliodas continued on with his act until Diane, who couldn't hold in her happiness scooped him up and began to rub him against her face.

"Me, an attractive waitress! I'm-I'm super happy! Thanks Captaaaaain!" everyone froze.

"Wa- wait a minute! You're the child in the reports, Meliodas of the Seven Deadly Sins!?" Arturia sighed, Ban who had reappeared at Diane's outburst griped, "That's why I said we should finish them off…" Arturia opened her mouth to interject but suddenly turn abruptly towards her left.

"Something's coming." She stated, her eyes narrowed.

"Huh?" Ban glanced down at her while Hawk grumbled and the knights accused Meliodas and Diane. A howl ripped through the air and something too fast to see sped towards the group, heading straight for the two Holy Knights looking up at Diane.

"What the hell is that?!" Hawk squealed and Meliodas slapped Diane's hand.

"Diane put me down!" he was looking at the two knights who were waving their swords wildly as they tried to swipe at the thing speeding around them. As fast as it happened the two were snatched up by the unseen force. Meliodas who had leaped down back to Elizabeth stood in front of her protectively while Ban angled himself in front Arturia and Hawk.

"This is bad, that's…"

"A black hound…" Arturia murmured, she hadn't seen one in a _very_ long time, not since she had first ventured out of Camelot as a knight.

"A what?" Ban glanced back at her.

"In Camelot, there are stories that Black Hounds are dark omens of death and guardians of the underworld."

"No kidding! Once it targets you, it won't turn back and it'll hunt you down until either he's finished with you or you're dead!"

"I see…" He smiled and strode to the edge of the giant pig and jumped off.

"W-what are you doing!" Arturia sprinted to the edge and looked over.

"Can't you see, I'm taking care of this problem." he directed his gaze at the hound that had stopped in front of him. "Sheeeesh, you're in the way of our fun adventure." it growled threateningly at him to which he only smirked. " _Should I kill you?"_ he asked sinisterly. The monster growled again as it grew up to be twice his size.

"What's up with this thing? It suddenly got bigger…" Ban didn't seem to be fazed as he stared up at the hound.

"So the rumors were true! Black Hounds can change their size depending on how threatened they feel!" Hawk was trembling in fear.

" _Hm, how boooooring. I'll kill you after all."_ He smirked wickedly and started forward but Meliodas leaped down off Mama Pig.

"Hold on a sec Ban!" He called, he ran in front of the immortal.

"Come ooooon Cap'n, that thing attacked us first! As always you're kind to boring things, just leave this to me." Ban argued with him putting his hands on his hips.

We're the ones who entered his territory." Meliodas held up his hand, holding firm. He started walking forward..

"Captain, be careful." Diane told him whiling eyeing the creature warily. The hounds and Meliodas's eyes met before it turned and bounded away.

"Impossible! A hound has never run from an enemy before!" Arturia declared in disbelief. ' _Just what is he?'_ She asked herself. From the very beginning she got a weird vibe from him but didn't deign to try and investigate further. Everyone in the Seven Deadly Sins must have had their secrets after all. Meliodas turned back to the group.

"Now that, that was taken care of, let's take off again!" he said cheerfully.

"You were going to say where we were going earlier… What is our destination?" Arturia asked him after he had jumped back up on Mama Pig.

"Our destination is the Capital of the Dead. We're going to look for another member of the Sins there. King." She blinked.

"But-I heard that King was dead." She told him.

"Yeah but it's the only lead we have right now, so we might as well as pay a visit." She had heard brief stories of the capital. A place where the veil between the living and the dead was thin and if one so wished it, could cross over to visit their passed loved one. If this was true… would she get to see Diarmuid there? She shook her head of her thoughts and tried to focus on what was going around her. She would not delude herself like Ban had, thinking that he could bring back the dead without consequence though if this myth happened to be true, she wouldn't mind getting to talk to Diarmuid like in the old days.

"Um, Lady Arturia?" Elizabeth noticed the woman's slightly dark look. Ban stood across the room watching the exchange. He recognized the look that had crossed her face having seen it on his for a number of years.

"Uh yes, Elizabeth. Please just call me Arturia." the female knight answered the Lionese princess.

"Oh right! Anyway, are you okay? You kind of spaced out there." Elizabeth offered her a small, shy smile which the blond returned.

"Yes, I just got lost in my thoughts. I think some fresh air by myself will clear my thoughts." Arturia watched as everyone returned to inside the building though Diane, being the giant that she was, simply fell behind to kindly allow the woman some privacy. She felt eyes on her back but decided to just ignore it, she was happy to have the outside relatively to herself. She sat on the edge of the platform lining the house and stared up at the sky. It would take about three or more days before they reached the Capital of the Dead she surmised before frowning. It was taking longer than she thought it would for her magic reserves to recover fully but then again her sword had the power to amplify her magic power so maybe it also too just amplified the rate at which she recovered her mana. She had recovered sufficient strength she supposed but nowhere on the the level she was used to operating on. Wielding her sword and using her abilities required a vast reserve of mana as she was small in stature and weight. That brought her to the point of how she was going to find a weapon. She normally used a two-handed sword though she had experience with other weapons. She just wasn't comfortable without _her_ sword, it was very precious to her. She would have to tell Meliodas at some point… It was likely he already knew though if he decided to help her was up to him and whether or not he wanted to take the time to help her locate the sword. There was also another problem, she no longer had her sheathe as well, she wondered if the Holy Knights of Liones had it. Only those within the inner circle of the Knights of Camelot knew of the sheathes capabilities but they were all very loyal and she doubted that they would take it for themselves or sell information to an enemy about it. Her mind wandered back to the Capital of the Dead, entertaining the idea that she may get to see Diarmuid.

"Um, Arturia?" She turned at the voice of Elizabeth who stood apologetically behind her. "I was wondering… If I could sit with you a bit?" Arturia nodded and gave the meek girl a smile.

"Oh, yes of course Elizabeth." Elizabeth made herself comfortable next the Pendragon before turning to the lady knight.

"You've been pretty down since Sir Meliodas revealed that we're going to the Capital of the Dead... You lost someone close to you didn't you." She blinked at her in surprise, internally shaming herself for being so unusually readable. "You're probably wondering if you'll get to see them again…" Elizabeth looked down at her feet and started to roll her earring between her fingers. "I'm wondering if I'll get see to my mom, she died when I was really young so I don't know her all that well… And I'm sure everyone else has someone important to them to in the capital…" Elizabeth trailed off. But when she looked up at Arturia again her eyes shone determinedly "I just want to let you know! I'm here for you! You can tell me anything!" she told Arturia earnestly who still looked on in surprise. She blinked a couple of times before offering the girl a radiant smile.

"... Yes, okay. You may do the same in return." Admittedly it felt good to be able to open up to someone, even if they didn't really remember that they had been close in the past. She spent most of her years bottling things up so they wouldn't get in the way of her duties but she was learning to be more open about things. As Diane caught up again. Arturia began to launch into a tale of one of her adventures.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm not entirely satisfied about the ending, I guess it's just not my forte. At the moment towards pairings I'm somewhere between pairing her with Ban or not giving her a pairing at all, I have mixed feelings about it so I'm not sure. If you guys have any idea who you want her to be paired with please review! I already have the next chapter written so it's only a matter of editing it. Please review and tell me how liked or didn't like!**


	4. AN!

**Hello! Sorry it's been so long! Events like school and a dying interest got in the way of me continuing this story. I had so many things I had to do that I basically stopped watching tv and anime for awhile. Though now since I'm getting off of school soon for the summer I may have more time to write. I also don't write a lot unless I have an urge to do so. I haven't abandoned the story though so don't worry. I also want to say that I've had the urge to rewrite the story, so I am. I didn't like the summary and I don't feel satisfied with the chapters so I'm going to see if I can improve it. Sorry for rambling and forgive me for posting this instead of another chapter, I'll have the first chapter up as soon as I am done! Thank you!**


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